If you're about to scoop your fish out of its tank and scrub the tank top to bottom with a sponge you bought at the grocery store, stop right there! These are mistakes that a new owner of fish (and therefore a tank) might make, and they could very well be lethal to the wonderful aquatic creatures now living in your home.

When you clean a fish take you will need an algae scraper, a clean bucket or bowl, a siphon and a gravel vacuum. Never use anything that might contain residue from cleaners, soaps, or other chemicals as these can be toxic to fish and plants. Have the water you'll be replacing ready; it needs to be the same temperature as the water in the tank and completely free of all additives, including chemicals present in municipal water supplies.

Use the algae scraper to remove algae from the walls of the tank. A razor blade can help you get the worst of it off. Follow this step up by carefully siphoning off about 10 to 20 percent of the water (never more) in the tank before using a gravel vacuum to remove any debris from the gravel. Decorative items can be cleaned by hand with the algae scrubber. When you're done, add the new water to the tank.